Government performance and dissatisfaction with democracy in Australia

ABSTRACT

Satisfaction with democracy has declined rapidly in Australia, reaching the lowest level recorded since the 1970s in 2019. Whereas Australian citizens used to be among the most satisfied democrats in the world, there is now evidence of widespread dissatisfaction. What explains this rapid decline in political support? Comparative studies emphasise the role of government performance, both political and economic, in shaping citizens’ attitudes towards the political system. This paper examines the role of government performance in shaping satisfaction with democracy in Australia, using Australian Election Study data from 1996 to 2019. The results demonstrate that frequent changes of prime minister, which a majority of voters disapproved of, and rising economic pessimism contributed to the decline of democratic satisfaction in Australia.     

浅论国际社会如何应对非法移民问题

近年来,非法移民问题日趋严重,已成为当今国际社会面临的一大难题。非法移民给许多国家带来了严重后果,止非法移民是国际社会的当务之急。非法移民是一个综合性的难题,必须运用经济、政治、法律、外交等多种手段,诸如加强出入管理,加强打击非法移民的立法,加强国际合作,缩小南北差距等。     

Palaeopathology of Iufaa and other persons found beside his shaft tomb at Abusir (Egypt)

Pathological changes of the lector priest Iufaa are compared with those revealed on the skeletons of his two relatives Imakhetkherresnet and Nekawer, and of an unrelated male Padihor. They were discovered in 2001 in the vicinity of Iufaa's monumental shaft tomb, dating from late 26th dynasty (before 525 BC). The complex was found unmolested by robbers. Congenital anomalies, osteoporosis, degenerative joint changes, post‐traumatic changes and maybe the first palaeopathological evidence of a rare benign neoplasm (neurilemmoma) were recorded. The findings add interesting new facts to the lives of these historical persons. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“Soldiers with stiff bodies”: rumors,stereotypes and the Chinese image of the British army during the First Opium War (1839-1842)

ABSTRACT

A curious aspect of the First Opium War was the circulation among Chinese officials of two claims made about British soldiers, instigated by Commissioner Lin Zexu: their uniforms were so tight that if they were to stumble they would not be able to get up again; and, the men were “like fish,” thus able to function well at sea, but not to fight on land because they had become so used to the pitching and rolling of their ships. This article examines the extent to which these notions took on the quality of wartime rumors, and how they spread beyond generals and officials and into the general population. It considers the way in which the rumors functioned in different ways and at different levels of society, taking on different constructions of meaning in multiple social and political domains.     

非完整性墓葬异地搬迁保护规程化研究

价值高、完整度好的墓葬越来越多选择整体搬迁保护。但在考古工作中,有结构缺损的非完整性但价值较高的墓葬不在少数。西安出土一座关中地区少见的、形制完整的宋金时期砖雕墓,尽管其结构局部缺损但研究价值高,是研究该时期墓葬形制、丧葬风俗的重要补充。为完整保留墓葬形制,兼顾再研究与展示,欲进行搬迁保护。保护前通过建立物理力学模型模拟墓室质心的偏移校正,并分析计算搬迁过程中砖壁的倾覆风险,确定了采取保留外部土圹固型、内部加固支撑的整体吊装搬迁方案;再根据理论计算出留土高度、通过模拟实验改进彩绘层隔离保护工艺,成功实现该墓葬的整体搬迁保护。本工作在文物搬迁保护中引入理论模型对缺损结构的量化评估,探究搬迁保护规程化方法,可为同类非完整性但价值较高的墓葬搬迁保护提供方法借鉴。     

湖南何家皂北宋墓出土纺织品附着灰蓝色物质的科学分析

出土于湖南衡阳何家皂北宋墓的纺织品上观察发现有灰蓝色固体物质附着,为查明其性质,采用扫描电镜-能谱法、激光拉曼光谱法和X射线衍射法结合能量色散X射线荧光光谱法和光学形貌观察等手段进行科学分析。结果表明,该物质为磷酸亚铁矿物——蓝铁矿[Vivianite:Fe_(3)(PO_(4))_(2)·8H_(2)O],其多形成于富铁、富磷、有机物含量较高且贫硫的缺氧还原沉积环境中,微生物活动亦对其生成有影响。该矿物的发现对墓葬环境特征与保存状态的研究有指示意义,在考古遗存中或可作为判断特殊埋藏条件的标志自生矿物之一。     

公共服务视野下的城市空间正义问题——以山东省Q市为例

以山东省Q市为例，从公共服务满意度视角探讨城市空间正义问题及其作用路径。研究发现，近年来我国城市存在公共服务视野下明显的空间不正义问题，临近省市政府能享受更多、更好的公共服务，而区政府并不显著，且远离政府权力中心的边缘地带更加严重。不过，这种空间不正义问题更多源自省市政府权力的空间资源配置失衡，区政府没有足够话语权；主要在市辖区层面，街道尺度并不显著。受制于公共产品属性不同，不同公共服务的空间不正义问题有明显差异，弱排他性或弱竞争性的问题较小。另外，权力空间化通过公共产品配置数量和质量影响空间不正义问题，且质量层面远大于数量层面。新时代城市要从提高公共产品质量入手实现空间正义。     

Shifts Along a Spectrum: A Longitudinal Study of the Western Eurasian Realized Climate Niche

ABSTRACT

Climate niches that modern humans and earlier hominin ancestors occupied have changed dramatically over time, but the extent of those changes has gone largely undocumented. This study investigates the manner in which the realised hominin climate niche has expanded, contracted, or stayed stationary across four time periods (Last Interglacial, Last Glacial Maximum, Mid-Holocene, and 1950–2000) in Western Eurasia. Using spatially gridded general circulation model data and site locations this study examines climate variables from archaeological sites and current Western Eurasian cities to describe both the regional Western Eurasian fundamental and realised climate niches. Changes between the three prehistoric periods and modern-day time period are analysed by calculating each realised niche breadth, overlap, position, and variance. Results indicate that as global temperatures cooled from the Last Interglacial to Last Glacial Maximum, populations expanded their climate niche breadth beyond that of earlier Neanderthal groups, shifting toward regions with less seasonal variation. Conversely, Mid-Holocene humans, who saw the proliferation of both agriculture and population, contracted their realised climate niche space. The contraction and expansion of realised climate niche space illustrates how hominins have evolved the capacity to shift their niche through changes to their subsistence strategy and adaptations to overall climatic conditions.     

Anthropological analysis of the osteological material from an ancient tomb (Early Bronze Age) from the middle Euphrates valley,Terqa (Syria)

Terqa, situated on the right bank of the Middle Euphrates, is known to have been a site already in the third and second millennium BC. Excavations which take place in this region aim to provide answers for numerous significant issues connected with the origins of human civilisation. In 2008 season we found a tomb dated 2650–2450 BC, consisting of two chambers with stone domes. The smaller chamber contained many luxury grave goods. The other one was bigger and contained human skeletons. The first skeleton belonged to a man, 45/50 years old. It is extremely heavy and large. On the right humerus, near the proximal edge, we found two cuts. The healed edges of the wound suggest that the man from Terqa survived after the wound was inflicted. Many muscular attachments were clearly marked on the bones and bone robustness was far above the average, which may suggest that the skeleton belonged to a warrior. These observations correspond to the fact that the bronze part of a belt together with bronze weapon‐blades was found on the right side of the hip. The second skeleton, which belonged to a female who was about 40/44 years old, was found in an anatomical position. The chamber also contained an almost complete skeleton of a sheep. The morphology of the forearm of the female suggested strenuous activity. From this skeleton was successfully isolated HVR1 fragment. The main mutation indicated that the analysed mtDNA belonged to haplogroup K. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.